On October 18, 1985, as he was traveling from Wichita to his parish in Fredonia, Kansas, Fr. Steven Scheier was involved in a terrible car accident: a head-on collision with a pickup truck.

At the moment of impact he was thrown from his vehicle, the entire right side of his scalp was taken off, and he broke his neck at the second cervical vertebrae (which is commonly referred to as the "hangman’s break"). Doctors at the hospital gave him only a 15% chance to live, yet he recovered in record time and was released in early December.

But what I find most noteworthy about Fr. Scheier’s story is the powerful, near-death experience he had immediately after his accident. Near-death experiences, of course, are as controversial as they are mysterious. Some of them may be imagined, others may be self-induced, while still others may be genuine spiritual experiences. I mention Fr. Scheier’s tonight, specifically because through it he was forced to confront a truth about himself—and the priesthood.

Fr. Scheier says that after he was thrown from his car he found himself standing before the judgement seat of Jesus Christ. And even though he had been well-liked by his parishioners in his 12 years as a priest, his sentence from Jesus was "hell." He says that the Lord took him through his entire life, and showed him (among other things) how he had failed in his priestly service: how he had watered down the truth of the Gospel in his preaching and teaching; how he had neglected his prayer life and the condition of his own soul; how he had failed to deny himself and sacrifice himself for others.

And Fr. Scheier says that all he could say to Jesus was, "Yes. I know." He could offer no excuses, because he was in the presence of truth—the Truth!

And that’s the way it was when he heard the final sentence. He responded, "Yes, Lord, I know. I know this is what I deserve."

At that moment, however, he heard a woman’s voice say, "Son, will you please spare his life and his eternal soul?" The Lord replied, "Mother, he’s been a priest for 12 years for himself and not for me, let him reap the punishment he deserves." "But Son,’ she said, ‘if we give him special graces and strengths . . . then let’s see if he bears fruit; if not, your will be done."

There was very short pause, after which Jesus said, "Mother, he’s yours."

Needless to say, Fr. Steven Scheier has been a very different priest since that event in 1985!

"Mother, he’s been a priest for 12 years for himself"—that’s the hard truth he was confronted with in his near-death experience. And he knew it was true!

But, you see, a priest cannot be a priest for himself!

This, I would say, is one of the most important lessons of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. And it’s a lesson taught to us by the Great High Priest himself, Jesus Christ!

The high priesthood of Jesus is spoken of extensively in the Letter to the Hebrews. In chapter 7 of that book we are told, "It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself."

By definition a priest is "one who offers a sacrifice." The high priests of the Old Covenant offered sacrifices distinct from themselves (bulls, goats, calves, sheep); Jesus, the Great High Priest of the New Covenant, offered himself, as the author of Hebrews reminds us in that verse. He was a priest for us, not a priest for himself. And because he was a priest for us (and only because he was a priest for us), we now have the hope of eternal life.

At the Last Supper, our Lord gave his apostles this message about the selfless nature of the priesthood in two ways: first, by an act of service: by humbling himself in their presence and washing their feet. Imagine, the Creator of the Universe washing the feet of Twelve men—all of whom would desert him in one way or another within 24 hours! And because he was God, he knew they would all abandon him! Yet he still bent down to serve them. How many of us would be willing to serve people who would desert us when we needed them the most?

Then Jesus gave them a second lesson on the need for a priest to be selfless by taking ordinary bread and wine, changing them into his Body and Blood, and allowing them to consume these elements for their spiritual nourishment. Here we have the ultimate act of self-giving (which pointed to the total sacrifice he would make for them the following day on the Cross of Calvary).

This is why a priest cannot be a priest for himself—it’s because the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, was not a priest for himself!

This is the thought that challenges us tonight, and it’s the thought that will hopefully motivate us to be better, more faithful disciples of the Lord. And notice I say "us". It challenges US!

"But, Fr. Ray, I’m not a priest like you and Fr. Davis."

That’s true—you are not a priest like me and like Fr. Davis. But you are a priest if you’ve been baptized!—so the message applies to you as well (with the proper qualifications).

Fr. Davis and I, by the sheer grace of God which comes through the sacrament of Holy Orders, are privileged to share in the ministerial priesthood of Jesus, which empowers us to act in the person of Christ when we celebrate Mass, hear confessions, and celebrate the other sacraments. God has called us to be priests FOR YOU by laying down our lives in service and sacrifice—which is not easy, as Fr. Scheier came to realize through his near-death experience. He thought his mediocrity was good enough, but it wasn’t. This, by the way, is one reason why you should pray for all priests every day! We have a tremendous responsibility before the Lord; we cannot be satisfied with mediocrity.

But there is also a reality known as the "priesthood of all believers" or the "common priesthood of the faithful" (as it’s called in the New Catechism). In 1 Peter 2, the first pope writes, "You . . . are living stones, built as an edifice of spirit, into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." And a few verses later he says, "You . . . are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people he claims for his own to proclaim the glorious works’ of the one who called you from darkness into his marvelous light."

This is the priesthood you share in as baptized lay persons.

And because you’ve been given this share in the priesthood of Jesus, the same truth that applies to ministerial priests like Fr. Davis and me applies to you: You cannot be a priest for yourself!

St. Peter says there that all those who share in the common priesthood of the faithful are to proclaim the works of God, and to offer spiritual sacrifices to the Lord. That’s how you are called to be a priest for others. But that is not easy, because it means taking a stand for Christ and the Church in your family and in every other setting in which you find yourself; it means being different from most of the world in your attitudes, words and actions; it means being faithful to the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount; it means living a life of charity, which expresses itself in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

This should help you to understand why we ministerial priests pray for you and serve you: even though your priesthood is essentially different from ours, yours is no easier to live out. You need prayer as much as we do.

But here’s the really Good News: as difficult as living either type of priesthood is, it is well worth it—because it ultimately brings you to heaven!

Once again, it’s Jesus the High Priest who teaches us this glorious lesson. As St. Paul put it in Philippians 2: "Because [Jesus obediently accepted death on a cross for us], God highly exalted him and gave him the name above every other name."

Because Jesus was a priest for others, he attained eternal life!

That same goal will be realized by everyone who shares in either the ministerial priesthood or the common priesthood of the faithful—if they, like Jesus, live their priesthood for others (and ultimately, for the Lord).

Then, when they go before the judgement seat of Christ, they will hear him say, "I gave you a great gift during your life: a share in my priesthood, and you have lived it the way I lived mine. Well done! Enter now into the kingdom I died on Good Friday to give you: the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Let’s pray tonight that Fr. Steven Scheier will hear those words when he finally goes home to the Lord for good someday in the future.